


Leaving Highever

by theoddling



Series: The Moments In Between (Dragon Age Origins) [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: DA: Noble Origin Spoilers, Human Noble Origin, Human Noble Origin Spoilers, Pre-Canon, but I think it's been long enough that no one cares about that anymore, mostly anyway, you can't have a character study without an origin story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 02:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16714756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoddling/pseuds/theoddling
Summary: Alternate Title: The Breaking of Ellwynn CouslandEllwynn Cousland is the only member of her family to have survived through Arl Howe's attack on Highever, and now a near-stranger is dragging her away from everything she's ever known, but she's not willing to give it all up without a fight...





	Leaving Highever

“No! Let me go!” Ellwynn Cousland screamed, words barely forming from her rage and pain as she struggled against Duncan. “I have to go back! I can’t…I won’t leave them!” Her mabari hound, Jump, circled the pair, barking and darting in to try to get between them.  
Tears streamed down her face and her voice was raw, but the grey warden remained unfazed. Suddenly, she wrenched one of her arms from her grip and brought it around, slamming her fist into his jaw with an almost animalistic snarl. The force, and more likely shock, was enough to stagger him and she made her escape. Freed from his grasp, she ran back in the direction they had come, blindly headed back to her home, despite the flames that licked up into the night sky, certain she could still save more people, still put things right.  
“Stop!” his voice cut through the fog of desperation that clouded her mind as he caught hold of her once again and she let out a howl of anguish.  
Sobs still shaking her body, she numbly let him pull her gently along, away from everything she’d ever known, until the shock of everything hit her all at once and she went limp, dropping to the ground as the world went black.  
~  
When she awoke, she was staring up at the grey pre-dawn sky, lying on her back, covered by a rough wool blanket, Jump curled up against her side, and the warden not far from her, asleep under an old oak.  
Seizing the opportunity presented to her, Ellwynn cautiously rose, gathering her sword and dagger, and slipped away, moving through the early-morning mist and shadows back toward Castle Cousland, or whatever remained of it, just visible in the distance. The journey only took about half the time she expected, so the sun was still cresting over the horizon when she arrived. She found herself shocked at the decision to camp so near to the site they were fleeing but shook the thought from her head.  
She couldn’t bring herself to reenter through the larder, sure she would have to see her parents’ bodies, and the front gate was blocked by Howe’s men who remained camped outside the keep and in its outer courtyard. The invaders however, lacked the advantage of more than seventeen years spent turning the ancient fortress into a beloved playground. Circling around to a spot not far from her bedroom window, she dug her toes and fingertips into the gaps formed by the wall’s old stones and drew a deep breath before hoisting herself up, scaling with ease to the leaded glass pane which she had stared out of, wondering about the future and if she would ever leave her family’s home, a mere day before. Easing the casement, she slipped inside and then found herself at a loss. Then she began gathering things, almost at random and piling them on her bed. Most of the obvious valuables and usable items had been taken by Howe’s soldiers, but a few trinkets and changes of clothes remained. Bundling her fleece blanket into a makeshift satchel, she stuffed them in, draped an old cloak and hood over herself and began to move systematically through the rest of the castle in the hopes of finding…something that would make her fool’s journey worth it.  
Steeling herself for the sight she knew awaited her, she went next to her brother’s room. Standing in the doorway she struggled to contain her shock and horror. Furniture lay overturned and smashed throughout, boxes and chests dumped and rifled through. The bodies of her nephew and sister-in-law had been moved but that seemed to make the drying bloodstains even more noticeable somehow and she felt sick staring at them. Biting her lip, she moved into the room anyway and carefully picked through what remained. A few ribbons and hair pieces of Oriana’s, a painting of the young family sketched over six inches square of canvas, and several dented and well-worn toy soldiers were added to the pack she carried and she found herself whispering a prayer to the Maker as she shut the door once more.  
The rest of the castle was in much the same state, ransacked and ruined, but the bodies all gone, probably cleared out into a mass grave or even just a pile that was burned. The very thought made her want to vomit or cry again, but she tried not to think on it. She had just entered the library, intent on liberating one or two of the books from her grandfather’s study when someone grabbed her, one hand clamped over her mouth to keep her from crying out.  
“What the hell were you thinking?” Duncan hissed in her ear before pulling her into the study and closing the door, blocking it so she couldn’t escape.  
“I…thought maybe there was a chance that I could…” she shook her head and sank down against one of the shelves. “It was stupid, I know that, but I wanted to try to save…something. Even if we go to Ostagar and you make me a grey warden or whatever, there’s almost no chance I’ll ever come back here. I’ll probably die in the fighting and if not, well, everyone’s still gone and Howe still holds the place.” She stared at the ground. “You must think I’m stupid.”  
“Your grief is understandable,” he said stiffly, “but your parents wanted you to survive, and it wasn’t just to break back in like a common burglar and get yourself killed over meaningless objects!” his voice was a threatening hiss, but she thought she detected a hint of concern in it.  
“My real hope was that Howe would still be here and careless in his victory,” she admitted bitterly.  
He shook his head at her and held out a hand to pull her up. “We really need to leave. We’ve already lost half a day because of this. There’s no more time to waste.”  
She nodded, ignoring him to push herself up off the cold stones. He led the way back through the larder where he had left Jump to guard the exit and out, away from her home, and this time she followed obediently and did not try to turn back.  
~  
The journey south was mostly uneventful, a few stops for supplies, including a proper backpack and bedroll for her, and a few skirmishes with bandits or, as they drew closer to the Wilds, darkspawn were all there was to break up the silent, cold monotony of the trip.  
Mid-afternoon sunshine bathed the ruin in light that could not quite drive off the eeriness of it as they finally arrived at Ostagar. Waiting for them on the bridge were several soldiers standing protectively around a young blonde man in glistening armor. He moved forward to greet them with open arms and she noted that he was handsome: classically, or clichédly, broad-shouldered and square-jawed balanced out by a friendly, cheerful face.  
Duncan greeted the man with difference and it dawned on her that they had just received a personal reception from King Cailan himself. Thoughts sluggish from weeks of depression, she wobbled a curtsy and greeted him respectfully, voice croaking from disuse. After a brief conversation with the king, including her blunt statement that the Couslands were dead and the resulting lecture from Duncan, the warden sent her on her way to prepare for the Joining ritual and she began to explore the camp, seeking her brother or anyone who would know where he was, eventually hearing news that he was out on a scouting mission in the Wilds. Eventually her directionless wandering brought her to the small platform on which the king’s tent and one other stood. Curious, she asked the guard standing outside and was told that it belonged to Teryn Loghain Mac Tir, the Hero of River Dane. She smiled bitterly and mentally added, “The last Teryn in Ferelden.”  
“May I speak with him?” she asked, as politely as she could. “He and my father, Bryce Cousland, Teryn of Highever knew each other.”  
The guard looked at her coldly. “Now’s hardly the time for social calls, but I’ll see if he’s willing to come out.”  
Moments later, Loghain emerged from his tent, expecting to greet Bryce and crack a tired and half-hearted joke about his tardiness. Instead his eyes settled on the bedraggled girl before him and frowned in puzzlement. Bryce was a bit old-fashioned, and even if he had brought a servant girl to the battle for some reason, he would never have allowed her to approach his fellow Teryn in such a state.  
“Yes, what is it?” he snapped impatiently.  
Ellwynn stared at him, hardly recognizing the face of the grizzled war hero she had worshipped, following him around like a shadow whenever she could as a child (much to his own daughter’s annoyance).  
“I haven’t got all day. If Bryce sent you with a message just deliver it and be on your way girl!”  
“I’m sorry to have disturbed you Teryn Loghain. I know as one of King Cailan’s most trusted generals you are very busy on the eve of battle, and perhaps I shouldn’t have troubled you with it, but since you and he were the only two of equal rank in all of Ferelden and you respected each other a great deal, and I think were friends, at least it appeared to be friendship to us children watching, I thought you should maybe be informed anyway that my father is dead as is my mother and most our household. My brother left ahead of the attack with many of the Cousland forces, and I’ve been told he’s out scouting in the Wilds so I presume for now that he is fine but I can’t say for certain. For my part, I’ve been conscripted into the Grey Wardens somewhat against my will as repayment for Duncan’s aid in escaping Castle Cousland.” The words came out in a rush and she tried to bow to him, but in her weakened state stumbled and ended up kneeling in the dirt and did not bother to rise. Jump, her ever-present shadow since that night, whined and pressed his head against her gently.  
He blinked down at her, trying to process what she had just said. Could this girl really be Bryce’s younger child? Ten years had passed since the last time the two teryns had met with their families in tow, so he supposed anything was possible, and she certainly had the teryna’s looks.  
“What attack? How can Bryce and his entire household be dead?” His brow furrowed as he offered her a gauntleted hand to pull her back up onto her feet.  
She accepted his aid in rising, took a few deep, steadying breaths, and recounted for him the events of the night Arl Howe murdered her parents.  
A brief look of shock crossed his face. “I’ll have you informed on anything about your brother or Arl Howe if it comes up…” he said almost absentmindedly. “You should go clean yourself up, you look like hell.”  
Then, without even a dismissal or brush off, he walked away to deal with other matters, leaving her staring at his retreating back.  
Exhausted, both physically and emotionally, she wandered through the camp until she found an isolated spot near the kennels that had been set up for the army’s mabari hounds and sat down, leaning against a thick fence post. Jump immediately settled protectively beside her with his blocky head in her lap. She knew that there wasn’t much time, but she couldn’t bring herself to face anyone else, especially not more Grey Wardens who would most likely have questions about the new recruit and closed her eyes to rest before going off to find this ‘Alistair,’ whoever he was.


End file.
